Upside Down
by angelxdevilspawn
Summary: AU, Sasuke and Naruto have grown up together since their parents are best friends. With loving parents and a family to grow up with seems to make all the difference...then again some things just dont change no matter what the circumstances. SasuNaru
1. It Starts

"Kushina!" yelled the blond haired man excitedly, putting down the phone, "He's here! We gotta get to the hospital fast!"

An annoyed and very pregnant woman with long fiery red hair waddled out into the hall, "Who's here Minato stop babbling and tell me why I should get to the hospital 4 months ahead of time?" It was common knowledge that Kushina hated the hospital. She would not step into the damn place even when she got hurt during her missions if she could help it. More than once, she had been tied down or drugged and then dragged to the hospital by her team mates or husband when the damage was too much, but not before she tried to maim each and every person responsible. So not surprisingly she was quite displeased at her husband's proclamation.

"Mikoto's baby, Kushina, it's on its way." Kushina's tone didn't deter Minato's enthusiasm. Kushina's eyes widened. "Shit. Let's go then Minato, what are we waiting for." And they were off.

Seconds later they were back, Minato getting out of the car and hurrying into the house screaming, "Kyuubi! Kyuubi!." The telephone rang again and Minato picked it up. "Hello...Dang! ok, we'll be right over," and they were off again.

* * *

Fugaku looked like a man whose wife was about to have a baby...which was exactly the case. A tall man with jet black hair, dressed in what might have been crisp a business suit, walked up and down the hallway outside a private room in a maternity ward, his jacket now a little crushed, tie loose and his collar button open and sporting a small frown that to close family and friends meant he was nearing breakdown. Uchiha Fugaku never lost his cool. But there are always exceptions that, every man would know, almost always had to do with either women or babies or the both put together. You'd think that after having done this once before that you'd be ready for it when it came around the second time but no...exceptions would always be exceptions. No amount of practice or mind control games seemed to help. Fugaku walked (not paced...Uchiha's didn't pace) up and down while two little boys (a redhead and one with jet black hair just like Fugaku) around the age of 5 watched him do so while sipping on juice.

At long last he heard the voice he had been waiting for. "Fugaku...how's Mikoto doing?" Minato walked in holding Kushina's hand as she waddled in. Fugaku quickly walked forward taking Kushina's other hand and helping her into a seat. Kushina cringed while wriggling her nose at the medicated smell of the hospital. "We came as soon as we could," Minato said knowing the deepening in the frown meant that the Uchiha was displeased with his delay. Minato knew Fugaku was usually at loss in such situations, never really sure of what he was supposed to do with himself. Being a man of purpose he always occupied himself with something to do. But here, right now, he had nothing he could do so he felt intimidated by the situation and nobody but the blond understood that; which was why Minato knew Fugaku must have been close to hysterics with him not having been there for the last couple of hours.

"They say she's doing well. Kushina can go in and see her if she wants." said Fugaku, the tension now beginning to ebb away. "No thanks, I'm fine," Kushina said her voice rising an octave higher, "How far along is she?"

"According to the nurses it'll be a while...3 to 4 hours atleast." Fugaku answered sitting down. 'So there was nothing left to do but wait.' Everyone completed Fugaku's sentence in their head. They sat in silence as the evening sun poured sheets of light into the room through the windows. Minato looked at Fugaku. He suddenly looked weary and old. He knew having a child did that to you.

Minato had known Fugaku since their genin days. After an initial friction, they had bonded instantly much to everyone's amazement. The two were nothing like each other. Fugaku was an Uchiha, proud cold and arrogant as they all were, while Minato was just a commoner, yet warm and friendly enough for many to consider him special. Their personalities were like oil and water, all said. They wouldn't have been able to deny it. Yet there they were; the best of friends. In fact, silently, everyone had blessed their friendship because the barriers that existed between the likes of the elite Uchiha and the rest of the village had slowly disappeared as the two, inadvertently, merged their worlds.

At that time Fugaku was individualistic to a fault. He cared for no one. It wasn't that he held any sort of malice towards anyone, quite the opposite actually. He just didn't see anyone. They were as good as objects. He was ruthless during missions so much so that his own teammates had feared him. But he did it on his own terms, never compromising his principles. Minato had admired him for it. He had hoped, however, to soften the man's unforgiving demeanour by befriending him. And although he mellowed down, opened up a bit even, Minato found that Fugaku was exceptionally soft on him. He was just as indifferent to the rest of the world as caring as he was of the blond. Even Mikoto hadn't been able to melt that cold heart.

But the first time Fugaku had held his first born in his arms in that very same hospital, all the walls had come down. He looked just as human as the next person. That was the very first time Minato had seen his best friend care, truly care, for someone other than himself. It reflected in his eyes that he would do anything for his son, anything at all. Such was the power of a child, Minato had mused.

Even on that day, seeing his best friend completely lose control whenever faced with his child amused the blond to no end. But he had to admit, his own experience counting, that the wait was the worst part of it all.

Three hours later, there was still no sign of the baby. Kushina was getting blue in the face, Fugaku had started pacing..ahem..walking again and Minato was beginning to feel weary. The two little boys sat quietly watching their parents' antics, knowing better that to open their mouths. Nurses kept walking in and out of the private room.

Two more hours later, Kushina had found herself an empty room after getting something to eat and gone to lie down, refusing Minato's pleas to return home. The boys were busy disrupting peace in whichever section they decided to victimize. Minato was watching his best friend slowly fall apart. He knew at this point nothing he said would help the man.

Another hour later the kids were asleep on the couch Minato sitting next to them barely awake while Fugaku leaned against the wall staring aimlessly.

Four hours later, at 3 am, Minato sat, head resting on the couch, eyes closed, each hand on one of the boys as they slept on his lap while Fugaku had passed out on another couch. That's how Namikaze Kushina found them as she waddled her way into the lobby. She had about a minute to watch them and smile before all hell broke loose.

Hurried steps could be heard from behind the door as it burst open, two nurses coming out.

"Get Dr Tsunade," yelled one as the other made her way through the lobby. The noise startled Fugaku awake just as Minato rose as well.

"What's going on?" asked Kushina aggressively.

"I'm sorry, I cant divulge – "

"What is going on?" asked Kushina menacingly grinding her teeth.

"Er...the patient has lost too much blood...she's critical" was the nervous reply.

"And the baby?"

"He's fine."

Before Kushina could ask any further questions a big bosomed blond burst her way through them into the delivery room.

The atmosphere in the lobby was tense. Fugaku had frozen the minute they had said that Mikoto was in danger. All of them waited hoping, praying that everything would turn out alright.

The last half an hour seemed longer that all the 13 hours put together, but the doctor finally came out and told them that Mikoto was out of danger now although it would take a while for her to recover completely and that they could now see the baby boy.

Some time later Fugaku was holding a pink little baby with a mop of black hair in awe as Kushina and Minato watched him cradle the baby.

* * *

Then Fugaku chuckled, much to Minato and Kushina's surprise, "He's going to be a troublemaker," Fugaku said, "He's had me worried sick from the moment of his birth," he said so lovingly one would think that it was a good thing, but both his friends were touched to see this other side to their bull headed friend.

At that moment a whimper was heard by the three and they turned around to see Mikoto coming to. Fugaku walked upto his wife and kissed her forehead lingering a bit before mumbling 'welcome back' with a sigh of relief. He then put the little boy in her arms. Mikoto looked like she could barely lift her arms let alone carry a baby but she cradled the boy all the same, watching her son sleep, tears forming in her eyes.

"Have you named the child yet?" asked Minato breaking the heavy silence.

Mikoto and Fugaku exchanged glances, "We've decided the name, yes" replied Mikoto, voice still hoarse from disuse.

"We decided to name him Sasuke," Fugaku said smiling at Minato and then looking back at his son, "Uchiha Sasuke"

Minato's eyes registered shock before smiling brightly. Fugaku had named his son after Minato's favourite hero, Sarutobi Sasuke.

* * *

Three months later the cycle was repeated all over again. Kushina was rushed to the hospital as she went into labour prematurely. Fugaku informed Mikoto as she was trying to feed a very stubborn 3 month old Sasuke. She grabbed the baby things along with Itachi and Kyuubi, who was once again playing at their house, and left for the hospital.

This time the labour period was short lasting only about 5 hours before the baby was delivered. Kushina was perfectly healthy after the birth, however, the little blond baby was another story. Having been born prematurely he was small and frail, struggling to survive, so he was put in an incubator and was to be monitored by the doctors for a while.

This time Fugaku watched with no words of comfort to offer as the broken blond watched his son from outside the nursery.

About 5 days after his birth Namikaze Naruto was deemed healthy enough to be taken home. When he arrived Sasuke was placed next to the sleeping baby. It was very soon noticed that whenever Sasuke was pulled away from the little blond he would begin to cry.

Thus Uchiha Sasuke met Namikaze Naruto and their lives began.


	2. Fathers, Sons and Mentors

Mikoto and Kushina watched from afar as their little baby boys interacted. All of five and eight months old both, they sat on the carpet laid out for them in the lawn. To Kushina and Minato's relief Naruto had grown up healthy despite his premature birth. Now he sat there having a very intense baby conversation with little Sasuke, it seemed. My how quickly they grew, the two mothers mused.

Naruto picked up his feeding bottle and gently pushed it into Sasuke's hands. Sasuke gently pushed it back to Naruto, looking at him meaningfully. Naruto did not seem satisfied so he tried once again to hand it to Sasuke. This went on for a bit until Sasuke finally took the bottle from Naruto and tried to push it into Naruto's mouth. And then he lightly pulled Naruto's cheek, almost fondly.

This had become something of a daily ritual. Both tended to try and share their bottles of milk with each other. Kushina wondered what they thought they were expressing by it. Or maybe it was just the adults who didn't understand.

Ever since those two had been put together they'd been inseparable. Mikoto remembered the first time the two families had taken a picture together. The two boys had kept trying to leap off their parents arms to get to each other. They had the picture taken in just about the same way. Time and time again, the two mothers would look at the picture and coo and giggle at their sons. They wondered if the two boys' connection would continue to hold.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke met their first play mate aside from each other at the age of two. Little Sakura was introduced to the two on an evening when Konoha was having their annual festival. The parents wanted a little time on their own so, leaving Itachi and Kyuubi at their friends' place, they assigned a baby sitter for the three 2 year olds.

When little Sakura first toddled unsteadily through the door of the playroom at the Namikaze home, both Naruto and Sasuke fell in love at first sight. Haruno Mai, Mikoto and Kushina watched as Sasuke cleared the floor for her and Naruto held her hand as the two sat down. They awwwed at the scene. The doorbell went off just then and Kushina left to open the door for the sitter.

* * *

"Their food is on the kitchen table. You'll just need to heat it a bit and give it to them in about a couple of hours. Don't let them have anything after that. Naruto will demand for candy. Don't let him have any. Put them to bed at 8 and you'll be done for the day ok?" Kushina rattled off. The young boy just nodded. Kushina smiled. Before turning to leave, however, she looked at him, "Kakashi I know you're a brilliant student and Jonin already, Minato wouldn't have recommended you if he didn't have absolute faith in you but I still have to ask, are you sure you'll be ok?"

The 19 year old's expression barely changed but he answered with a curt, "Yes Ma'am."

Kushina nodded, appeased, and then left.

Kakashi turned to the three babies seated on the carpet playing with the toys. He was trained by the Hokage, Namikaze Minato, he was the 'Prodigy', he knew this would be cake walk.

He was so wrong.

The three toddlers were angelic for all of fifteen minutes. After that all hell broke loose. Naruto and Sakura began a tug of war over a pink bunny, screaming biting and yelling all at the same time. While Kakashi tried to separate them he noticed Sasuke ripping out the artificial butterfly attached to Sakura's carelessly discarded hair clip, and chew on it with curiosity. He just about managed to battle it out of Sasuke's tight baby fist (who said babies were fragile? This one could take on a full fledged jonin) when he found Naruto's baby teeth firmly sunk into Sakura's tiny little finger, who was currently howling out her misery. Deciding that the children were now hungry, he tied the protesting little devils to the cribs and quickly heated their food.

It got quiet for a bit. When he returned with the food he found that Sakura and Naruto wriggling out of their bonds while Sasuke had already freed himself and was now attempting to jump off the ledge. He grabbed the three and set them on the table with their food. It was not so simple to get them to eat, however. They tried to feed each other, they tried to feed Kakashi, Sakura even threw a fit until Kakashi accepted a spoon full, they tossed the food around, they flicked it at each other, Kakashi got a face full.

After dinner, they seemed to have double the energy they had before. They ran around, attempted to climb various cabinets, grabbed his kunai bag, howled when it was taken away, tried collectively to pull down him mask, howled some more when he wouldn't allow it. It wasn't until after 9 30 that Kakashi was finally able to put them to bed, only because they were drained out by then. Kakashi heaved a sigh of relief. It was only a half an hour later that the parents returned and Kakashi dashed out of there, after hastily bidding goodnight. He swore he'd sell his balls to Orochimaru for experimentation before he ever had to deal with the three hellions again.

* * *

"Do you know what these dolls do Sasu chan?" Itachi asked evilly, holding a figurine that looked like Sasuke and Naruto in his hand. Beside Sasuke, Naruto looked like he was about to cry. Sasuke held his hand firmly and glared at Itachi with all his might. "I can hurt you with this doll," Itachi's grin got more maniacal. Kyuubi desperately held in his laughter, determined not to give them away. "Whatever I do to this doll will happen to you," Itachi's voice got low.

"No!" Sasuke retaliated, glaring back at Itachi.

"Oh yes Sasuke! It does happen!" Itachi continued sadistically. "Shall I show you? I'll burn Naruto doll's hair off. Lets see if anything happens to Naruto shall we?"

Naruto whimpered. "No!" Sasuke yelled launching himself at Itachi and trying to wrestle the doll out of his hands. Itachi pushed him aside and took off with the dolls, Kyuubi at his tail. The two of them hid and watched Itachi's two year old brother furiously rip black wool from one of his stuff toys and try to attach it to another doll's head, presumably making an Itachi replica. Both the seven year olds were silently having a laughing riot as they hi fived and continued to watch their siblings' attempt at revenge. Sasuke was busy pushing pins into the Itachi look-a-like when the main door was thrown open and Minato and Fugaku as good as rampaged in. Itachi and Kyuubi scarpered.

"No I cant do what you're asking me to do Fugaku, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru will never agree!" Minato yelled as he walked in.

"Minato don't give me that excuse, the elders will agree to whatever you think is right, you know that!" Fugaku thundered, "You just don't want to give the Uchiha any more power."

"Yes I don't, Fugaku! The police force has enough power as it is, you can't abuse your power over me as your friend and force me to make a decision for the village!"

"I am NOT trying to influence you Minato how dare you even suggest that!"

"Then why don't you trust me? Do you think I'm the kind of guy who would do that Fugaku? I'm your best friend, why the hell would I try to thwart your clan? Don't you believe in me?"

Fugaku looked away, disgruntled.

"I'll take the decision I think is best for everyone, Fugaku, and I need you to back me up on that, I can't do this without you," Minato pleaded.

"Fine," Fugaku replied grudgingly. Minato smiled a little as they walked into the play room, relieved that Fugaku had calmed down. He was incredibly stubborn at time, but not unreasonable, so Minato didn't mind. Unfortunately at that moment Fugaku slipped on a carelessly strewn toy and his temper flared again.

"Sasuke, learn to keep you toys in one place," he thundered again, frightening the little boy.

"Don't yell at him! He's a baby, he doesn't know better!" Minato yelled at him.

"He's an Uchiha! He will learn as he is expected to!" Fugaku yelled back as he picked Sasuke up.

"He's a child first! Stop trying to vent your frustration over our fight on him!" Minato growled, picking Naruto up while challenging Fugaku. "What's that in his hand?" he asked before Fugaku could reply. "Is..is that a voodoo doll?" Minato exclaimed.

"It's just a doll," Fugaku tsked irritably.

"Just a doll! Fugaku aren't you even concerned about where he picked up something like that? Do you know what kind of impact it can have on his thinking?" Minato questioned, exasperated, "This is your problem, you never realize the potential for disaster and you always undermine it."

"Oh now you're saying that the problem is not with my clan but with me? You know what Namikaze I don't need you I can deal with my own problems." Fugaku shouted.

Minato was furious. How dare he say he didn't need Minato! "Fine, have it your way then, get out!"

"Fine!" Fugaku yelled and stormed out as Minato entered his study and slammed the door shut.


	3. Best Friends

"Naruto! Hold on a minute!" Kushina tried to hold him still as she dressed him in his outfit. He was extra hyperactive today because of the fancy dress party at the nursery that Naruto and Sasuke attended. Naruto was going as a ghost.

"Ojamashimasu!" Mikoto could be heard from the main door. She soon entered the living room holding little Sasuke's hand. Kushina cooed at Sasuke's cat costume. He looked simply adorable. Naruto promptly jumped off the chair and, running to Sasuke, grabbed hold of his hand.

Rolling her eyes at their enthusiasm, Mikoto ushered the two out the door. "Fugaku will pick them up," Mikoto said as she walked out too.

"I thought Minato was picking them up," Kushina frowned.

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, "those two still not talking to each other?" Kushina shook her head. "Seriously those two need to grow up. Sometimes they're worse than the kids!" Mikoto stated. "Well, I guess they will come face to face at the nursery. Maybe they'll talk it out then."

Waving to Kushina, she shut the door behind her.

* * *

This was possibly the first time Sasuke and Naruto were attending a party with their peers. At the nursery, Naruto and Sasuke usually tended to stick together, but today, much to little Sasuke's displeasure, Naruto seemed to be interacting more with the other kids and Sasuke felt left behind. He tried to pull Naruto away from the crowd surrounding him but Naruto was having too much fun so he shook off Sasuke's hand and continued with his new found friends.

Sasuke felt deeply hurt by Naruto's actions so he walked away to a secluded corner next to the window, dragging one of the little chairs with him, and sat there staring, moodily, outside.

"Neko chan?" Sasuke turned to find a boy his age staring at his ears. He had long black hair and the palest eyes Sasuke had ever seen. The boy was dressed in a yukata with tiny fake swords attached to his hip. A girl, a little shorter than the boy but with equally pale eyes, hid behind him holding on to his yukata. She was dressed in a yukata as well, only a more elaborate one with a royal bearing to it. Sasuke looked curiously at the two.

"Cute!" the boy said and began stroking Sasuke's head as if he were a real kitten. Sasuke blushed at the attention.

Elsewhere, Naruto was having the time of his life with his new friends. He played with the little dog of a brunette with two red triangles on his cheeks, he shared food with the fat boy who was constantly eating, he babbled semi coherent statements to a rather loud and hyperactive blond girl with pigtails and traced cloud patterns with a pineapple head. Then there was the boy with bugs and bushy eyebrow boy.

But he soon began to miss Sasuke so he looked around, searching for him. What he found was not pleasing to him at all. Next to the window sat Sasuke, being petted by some long haired kid.

He furiously stomped to the trio and pulled Sasuke by his hand. Sasuke who seemed to have actually been enjoying the attention, pulled back. Naruto was not happy and he was not about to give up. So he tried to pull Sasuke away again thereby beginning a tug of war. Not finding a good enough grip on Sasuke, Naruto began to pull his tail instead. Sasuke didn't like it one bit and struggled harder. Somewhere between all of this, the other two children left. Soon Naruto began to cry because Sasuke wouldn't give up and come with him and Sasuke began cry because his tail was not being let go off. And that is how Minato found them when he came to pick them up.

He knelt down in front of them and asked them what happened. He surmised from their semi coherent bawl that the two of them didn't like sharing each other. He could help but laugh at how different and yet how alike the two were.

"Naru chan, Sasu chan, you are best friends. And best friends forgive each other." a voice startled Minato. He looked up to find Fugaku standing beside him. Fugaku crouched down as well and wiped the tears off both their faces. "You are best friends aren't you?" Fugaku asked the little ones whose bawls had now calmed down to sniffles. The two boys nodded. "then give each other a hug," he said.

The little boys hugged each other and Sasuke innocently planted a kiss on Naruto's lips. Both the fathers blushed. Rather uncomfortable with the predicament the two found themselves in, they chose to pick up their boys and head out in silence.

But before parting ways Minato called out to Fugaku. "You will be coming home for dinner, wont you?" he asked, looking away, a little embarrassed.

Fugaku's lips twitched upward. He nodded once, then walked away, leaving a certain blonde grinning like an idiot.

* * *

**_Ojamashimasu _**_is what people usually say when entering somebody's house in Japan. It is equivalent to saying,'sorry for intruding'_

**_Neko _**_means cat, therefore **Neko chan **means little cat or kitten._

_I'm sorry this chapter is short, but there will be a time skip so it made sense to start a fresh chapter. _


	4. Angelic Devils

Little Sasuke, now four years old, stood in front of his closet in his underwear, frowning as he looked for his favorite blue t-shirt and black shorts. He'd told his mother, boldly, not 10 minutes ago, that he could get dressed himself. thank you very much. But now he had to fight the urge to call for her.

"Sasu chan," Sasuke turned towards the window just as a flash blinded him. He blinked, trying to gain focus, only to find little Naruto looking through the window with a camera in his hand and an extremely cheeky grin on his face. It took a few seconds for the implications to sink in. When it did little Sasuke took off after a raspberrying blond. A few seconds later he came back, grabbed the first t-shirt and shorts he could find and flew back out again.

His blond friend had become incredibly troublesome as he grew, Sasuke realized. He'd shed his adorably clueless personality and turned into a fiend. Naruto, at the age of four, was impossible. He wreaked havoc wherever he went. He was impossible to catch because of his boundless energy and he lived to make Sasuke's life miserable it seemed. But he was going to get even with his best friend, Sasuke thought as he tore through the bushes looking for him.

He found him a few minutes later, staring intently at a pouch he held in his hand. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized it was Itachi's kunai pouch and that directly below lay a pile of shit.

Naruto's grin broadened as he dropped the pouch into the pile.

"NO!" Sasuke screamed as he ran to save the bag, but was not quick enough. With a sickening plop it dropped into the pile. Sasuke looked at the bag in despair just as he heard Itachi's growl all the way from his room. And before he knew it, small tan hands grabbed his, and they took off into the fields, Naruto laughing like a maniac.

They ran for long before crashing onto the grass. They lay there flat on their backs staring at the clouds above. Sasuke would have hell to pay for what Naruto did back there, he knew it. He wondered what he could do to get even with the blonde.

"Sasu chan," Sasuke turned around to find Naruto crouching beside him holding a flower. He sat up and raised an eyebrow when the blonde offered it to him.

"Sasu chan, you're my best friend, and you'll always be no matter what happens," Naruto said with a wide grin.

"Will I also always be your best friend?" Naruto asked. The raven blushed but nodded.

"No matter what?" He nodded once again.

"Sasu chan, may be it is time I tell you that….that I stuck your naked picture in Itachi's drawer!" Naruto laughed and took off once again, a furious raven on his tail.

* * *

At the age of four, Sasuke discovered, Naruto had also developed an obsession; an obsession with him.

They were sitting by the lake, Sasuke with his feet dipping in the water and Naruto on his stomach swinging his legs behind him, when he made the proclamation.

"When I grow up, I'm going to marry you," he said.

Sasuke blushed furiously. "Baka Naruto, I'm a boy. You have to find a girl," Sasuke replied.

"But you're so pwetty Sasu chan!" Naruto replied with a wide grin. "You're prettier than all the girls I know. Even Sakura chan."

The next day, Naruto forced Sasuke into a little girl's outfit and chased him around the house trying to force him to wear the ring he'd got with his candy as well, claiming that everyone should know who he belonged to.

Mikoto and Kushina couldn't stop laughing at this, much to Sasuke's humiliation. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto was a handful indeed, when he was four years old, but their mothers couldn't stop cooing at their little angelic devils and their antiques.

They would grow up quickly, they knew. Their older sons were nine years old now and attending the academy. They knew it wouldn't be long before their little ones followed suit. So they enjoyed what little time they had with their babies. And in the meantime, they could collect material for future blackmail purposes, Kushina smirked evilly, as she clicked yet another adorable picture of the two holding hands, Naruto with a lollypop in his mouth.

There was no doubt as to who's son Naruto was, Mikoto mused as she watched her best friend click away.


End file.
